


not the same

by un-ah (NeverConformEver)



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Alpha!Minho, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Omega!Thomas, Post-Canon, Post-The Death Cure, Self-Destructive Behavior, Suicidal Thoughts, The Death Cure Spoilers, alpha!newt, touch starvation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:47:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28587444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverConformEver/pseuds/un-ah
Summary: “Shh,” Minho whispers into his hair as his breath hitches in panic. “I got you. I got you, baby. You’re safe now. It’s over.”It’s over.Thomas sobs and clings to Minho, trying to choke back the wails that wrench their way out from deep within his chest.It’s over. Newt is gone.-Omegaverse Thominewt, after the events of TDC.
Relationships: Minho/Newt (Maze Runner), Minho/Newt/Thomas (Maze Runner), Minho/Thomas (Maze Runner), Newt/Thomas (Maze Runner)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 125
Collections: Pieces of Thominewt, Pieces of Thominho





	not the same

**Author's Note:**

> so i wrote this in one go and barely edited? here u go, have some pain

When Minho feels Newt’s end of the bond give out he’s bowled over.

The emptiness feels like an open wound screaming. He doesn’t realize he’s screaming, too, until the others rush to him, asking him what’s wrong. He can feel Thomas’s pain and guilt rip through him just as surely as his own. He feels his failure in the empty echo, the severed limb, the fact that neither of them are in his arms right now.

His first thought is,  _ This isn’t real. This can’t be happening. _

His second thought is,  _ Where’s Thomas? _

He should’ve stayed with them, he should have protected them. Should’ve, would’ve, could’ve.

The alpha in him does not calm until he sets eyes on Thomas again. But even then, it’s not enough.

Thomas’s eyes reflect the fire as they pull away from the building. He barely seems to register Minho’s touch as Minho hovers over him, panicking at the blood spilling from his wound.

“Thomas! Thomas?” Minho tries to handle him gently, not to shake him too hard. Not to aggravate the pain he can feel radiating from Thomas through their bond. Thomas’s eyes swim with tears, and Minho  _ feels _ it when he gives up. When he finally decides that enough is enough, that he doesn’t want to live in this cruel world anymore.

“No, please,” Minho whispers, cradling Thomas closer to him. “Don’t.”

_ I need you. I can’t lose you, too. _

* * *

Thomas always thought bonded omegan touch dependency was stupid. The way he sees it, it’s basically the world punishing him for falling in love. For daring to take one good thing for himself.

Omegas are honestly better off remaining unbonded. Unbonded omegas can survive on their own, but bonded omegas require the soothing touch of their alphas to remain healthy and sane.

Thomas hasn’t felt healthy or sane in a long time. He doesn’t know if he ever will again.

When Minho had been taken, the only thing he could think of was getting him back. Not just because of the biological need his stupid, omegan body insisted on having, but because life was not worth living without him. He couldn’t accept being safe and comfortable knowing that Minho was elsewhere, suffering. Every day Minho was with WCKD, Thomas could feel his panic and rage and exhaustion through the bond. And every day it was almost all he could do to just keep his own feelings under control so he wouldn’t burden Minho with any other unnecessary negative emotions. He and Newt had supported Minho as much as possible through the bond, never letting him forget that they were coming to save him.

And now Newt is dead. Steady and strong Newt, who Thomas could always rely on to be there with whatever he needed before he even knew he needed it. Clever and witty Newt, who ran circles around Minho with his words just to make Thomas laugh. Newt, the only one who could keep Minho and Thomas from doing something reckless. Newt, the one that held everything together.

For Thomas, there is no life worth living without Minho. But the thought of living without Newt had never even crossed his mind. He’d somehow assumed that Newt would always be there. Newt being dead was...inconceivable.

So when he first wakes up to the feeling of warmth surrounding him, face buried in Minho’s neck, he relaxes into Minho’s hold. He nuzzles into the crook of Minho’s shoulder and sighs as Minho runs a large hand from the nape of his neck down to the base of his spine, paying special attention to his scent glands and gentling him in a classic alpha move.

Then the emptiness at his other side makes itself known, and it all comes rushing back.

Newt’s beloved features twisted into a snarl.

Newt’s hoarse voice yelling, “Tommy, kill me!”

The familiar weight of Newt’s body falling against his.

The horrific choking sounds he made.

The look of shock and acceptance on his face as he let go of the knife and fell to the ground.

The way everything seemed to disappear except for his and Minho’s silent screams resonating in their bond, crackling with tension and disbelief.

Ava Paige saying, “You could save us all,” when all he could hear was, “You killed Newt.”

“Shh,” Minho whispers into his hair as his breath hitches in panic. “I got you. I got you, baby. You’re safe now. It’s over.”

_ It’s over. _

Thomas sobs and clings to Minho, trying to choke back the wails that wrench their way out from deep within his chest.

It’s over. Newt is gone.

* * *

Thomas hasn’t spoken ever since he woke up. Even the bond is silent. Not gone, like the ever-present ache of Newt’s absence, but silent. He’s walled himself off, and refuses to even look at anyone. Minho is at his wit’s end.

His omega is refusing to accept his comfort. He’s a failure of an alpha.

He failed when he couldn’t protect them. He failed when he let himself get captured. Newt may have been an alpha too, but they were supposed to protect each other, and Minho hadn’t kept up his end of the deal. And now Thomas refuses to let him set things right.

Sometimes, Minho feels like Thomas is trying to punish him. But mostly, Minho knows that Thomas knows that no matter what Minho does, nothing will ever be “right” again.

The thing is, Minho needs it just as much as Thomas does. He needs to hold Thomas close, to know he’s alive and safe in his arms. He needs to be able to cradle him to his chest and tell him that he will never let him go, ever again. He needs to reassure himself that Thomas is still here with him, because they are each all they have left.

There was a time when all three of them were together. When Thomas slept, nestled between their arms, quiet and peaceful and safe. When he and Newt looked in each other’s eyes and promised each other that they’d do everything in their power to keep their omega safe. Nothing in the world could ever stop them, if they were together.

But they’re no longer together. And with every second that passes, he can feel Thomas slipping further and further away.

He refuses to let Minho touch him. He refuses to eat. He refuses to sleep. He refuses to nest. He’s slowly killing himself, and Minho is helpless to stop it.

“Thomas, baby,” he says as he enters the room. Thomas is sitting by the window, quiet. The bed looks untouched. “Will you eat something? For me?”

Thomas doesn’t respond.

Minho creeps forward. He puts the plate of food—barely enough for a child, but more than anything Thomas has eaten for days—in front of him. Thomas turns his head away. Minho raises a hand, hovering it over Thomas’s shoulder, and he can feel Thomas stiffen under the phantom touch.

He draws his hand away.

He wants Thomas to talk to him. To smile at him again. He wants them to cry together, to snuggle at night. Mostly, he wants Thomas to love him again. But how could he ask that of him? After everything, how could anyone dare to ask anything of Thomas?

But he can’t sit there and let Thomas continue hurting himself, either.

Newt would never forgive him.

It’s been a week. Not nearly enough time to heal, but much too long for Thomas to have been allowed to go on this way.

If Newt were here, he’d—

No. He has to stop thinking like that. Newt isn’t here. It’s up to Minho to take care of Thomas now.

He doesn’t hesitate this time, doesn’t give Thomas the chance to turn him away. But he’s gentle, because Thomas deserves gentle, even if he’s stronger than anyone Minho has ever known.

He turns Thomas towards him, carefully. Thomas shakes him off half-heartedly, but even then he’s too weak to protest.

“Let’s go to bed, okay, baby? Just to lie down. That’s all I want.”

Thomas shakes his head, curls in on himself. It hurts to see him so tired, so lacking in the fire that he’d always been full of. Minho decides that he won’t take no for an answer, so he simply wraps his arms under Thomas’s back and legs and lifts him towards the bed.

* * *

_ Stop it, _ Thomas wants to say.  _ Don’t touch me. _

He doesn’t deserve it. They should have just left him to die.

His omega is begging him to relax into Minho’s touch, to crawl under the sheets with him and just let Minho take care of everything. But that would mean moving on. That would mean leaving Newt behind, and Thomas can’t do that. He isn’t ready. He’ll never be ready to let go, even if the only thing he has left is this single reminder: pain.

Minho lowers him onto the bed and tucks the covers up under his chin, curling up behind him.

It feels good. It feels so good, Thomas could die.

His every nerve is singing with relief, pores opening up as though starved. Minho smells like sunshine and grass. He smells like the wind whipping past his face during a good run. He smells like freedom and home all at once.

It’s too much.

“Minho,” he croaks. He feels Minho startle and draw him closer.

“I’m here,” Minho says. “I’m not leaving you, ever.”

“Minho, I can’t do this anymore.”

He feels Minho’s fear and pain hammering up against the walls he’d erected in between their bond.

“Thomas...” Minho says, and Thomas has to hold back a shiver at the sound of his name whispered against the back of his neck. “What... What do you mean?”

Thomas curls tighter into himself, wrapping his arms around his knees.

“I mean this isn’t right. I can’t—I can’t let you do this.”

Minho pries THomas’s fingers away from his elbows and turns him over. He takes his time, slowly unfolding Thomas’s body until he’s stretched out, muscles releasing for the first time in days.

“Thomas, I will never deny you what you want. This is your decision. If you—if you want me...gone. I can go.” Minho’s hands are large, swallowing Thomas’s slimmer fingers. Thomas can’t bring himself to look him in the eye.

“But I need to know,” Minho continues. “Why? I know... I know I wasn’t there for you. I know I... I didn’t protect you. But I can’t leave you until I hear it straight from your mouth. What could I have done better? Where did I go wrong? Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help you?”

Thomas feels something in him shatter, something he didn’t even realize was still there. He returns Minho’s grip, tugging him forward.

“No. No, Minho, that’s not it. You didn’t do anything wrong. It was me. It was all me,” he begins to cry again, chest heaving. “I fucked up. I fucked up, and he’s gone, and, and I don’t... I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve—”

Minho crashes his lips to Thomas’s, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and crushing him to his body. The salt of their tears mingle between their lips. Finally, they break away, and Minho rests his forehead against Thomas’s.

“You idiot,” he whispers. “You beautiful, selfless idiot. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not your fault. And nothing you could do could ever stop me from loving you. You can drive me away as much as you want, but I’ll never stop. You deserve everything the world can offer, Tommy. I just wish I had the power to give that to you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I can’t be enough.”

Thomas is a shivery, trembly mess in his arms. “No, Minho. You’re enough. You’ll always be enough. I just—”

“You miss him.”

Thomas nods, and holds Minho tighter.

“I know. I miss him, too.”

They’re crying, still, wiping away each other’s tears, holding each other’s faces. They meet in the middle in another kiss.

“You can’t keep doing this to yourself, baby,” Minho says, voice breaking. “I can’t stand it. I can’t stand not being able to help you. Let me help you, please.”

He keeps whispering “please” as he presses kisses across Thomas’s face, his hair, his fingers.

“Please, Thomas. I can’t lose you, too.”

Like a dam breaking, Thomas gives in.

“Okay. I’m sorry, Minho. I’m sorry... I’m so sorry.”

Minho rocks them back and forth, massaging Thomas’s neck and stroking his back. The tight ball of sadness in Thomas’s stomach is still there, but it begins to unfurl. He tries to convince himself he’s not betraying Newt by letting it happen.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Minho says, kissing his neck. “I love you so much, baby.”

“I love you, too.”

And it’s true. It’s so true they can barely stand it, because as true as it is, it isn’t enough. 

Love can’t save them anymore. But it’s all they have left.

**Author's Note:**

> so...if u dont hate me, i'm still taking requests over on my [tumblr](https://manako-no-yami.tumblr.com/post/639180305112203264/hey-yall-im-currently-taking-tmr-fic-requests-for)?


End file.
